European Union (EU) mandarin production in 2021–22 is forecast at 3.16 million metric tons (MMT), a 2.3% decrease from the previous year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently reported.
Spain will be the largest EU producer of mandarins in 2021–22 at 2.1 MMT, down from 2.3 MMT the prior year. Italy’s expected mandarin production of 832,300 metric tons in 2021–22 is up from 660,280 metric tons the previous year. Greece, the third largest producer in the EU, is forecast to produce 160,000 metric tons in 2021–22, down from 171,849 metric tons the prior year.
FAS stated that favorable weather conditions in Calabria caused the overall mandarin production increase in Italy, despite floods causing damage in Sicily’s citrus groves. The larger production in Italy was not enough to offset the production decreases in Spain and Greece. Higher temperatures delayed the beginning of the harvest in Spain. In Greece, a summer 2021 heatwave and lack of rainfall negatively affected yields.
PLANTED AREA
EU mandarin planted area for 2021–22 has also been revised down to 151,576 hectares. This continues a long-term contraction in plantings, mainly driven by the planted area reduction in Spain.
CONSUMPTION
A slight decrease in overall consumption of EU fresh mandarins for consumption and processing is forecast in 2021–22, after peaking the prior year. Reduced consumption is expected in Spain while larger consumption volumes are anticipated in Italy and Greece.
TRADE
The EU is a net importer of mandarins. Trade data available for 2021–22 show a new expansion of EU imports of mandarins to make up for the reduced domestic supply. South Africa and Morocco remain the leading suppliers to the EU market, followed by Turkey, Israel and Peru. The shorter EU crop limits export possibilities in 2021–22. The EU’s main export destinations for mandarins include the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine, Belarus, Norway and Canada.
See the full FAS report on EU citrus here.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service
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